Vientiane

    After a brutal night train ride from Bangkok, we were abruptly stopped and awoken to be told there was a wreck on the train tracks and we couldn't make it to our destination in Nong Khai (right before crossing the border to Laos).  We hopped on a double-decker bus and headed to Nong Khai, to then board another train to cross the "friendship bridge" between Thailand and Laos.  A solid 12-13 hours later, we were in Laos!  Pulling out our trusty Lonely Planet guide, we set off to explore the capital of Laos, Vientiane (which coincidentally has the least amount to do in the country).
   We first set off four the Laos National History Museum, hoping for some air conditioning in the sweltering heat.  We were sadly wrong, but walked around the museum anyways which is held in an old mansion.  You weren't allowed to take pictures inside but I learned a lot about the country's history that I didn't know (which may not be saying much considering I knew nothing).  There was a whole room dedicated to American involvement in their history, almost every picture labeled "American imperialists savagely..." with a picture of some white guy (and sometimes Lao children- still not sure what that was about).

   Our next destination was Wat Si Saket, which is Laos' oldest monastery and has over 2,000 ceramic and silver images of Buddha!  It was incredible, and put Wat Pho to shame! 

A random stupa

There were thousands of these

little Buddhas!

more Buddhas

Finally, we headed to "That Dam" or The Black Stupa.  We thought it may be a little more exciting, it was basically just in the middle of a round-a-bout.  But still cool, we don't have random stupas in ours at home.

   And so concludes our first day in Laos, a whirlwind of culture, heat waves, and good pizza.  Our next stop: Luang Prabang, Laos- a supposedly 10 hour bus ride.  Coming up next-- the bus ride from a horror film, as told by me.